Travis, Newbill, Taylor With Career Days

Travis, Newbill, Taylor With Career Days

UNIVERSITY PARK - Sophomore Brandon Taylor (Tabernacle, N.J.) and juniors D.J. Newbill (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Ross Travis (Chaska, Minn.) each turned in career performances to lead the Penn State men’s basketball team to a 93-67 victory over Longwood Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lions improve to 4-1 on the season, while the Lancers drop to 2-3.

The 93-point effort is the most for the Nittany Lions since they put up 104 vs. Gardner Webb on Dec. 19, 2009.

Taylor led the team in scoring, posting a career-high 25 points to best his previous high of 17, set earlier this season against Bucknell. The sophomore went 9-of-16 from the field and also set a career mark in 3-pointers, draining 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Newbill flirted with a double-double, registering 23 points and nine boards while also putting up a career-high tying seven assists. Travis registered the sixth double-double of his career, tallying 11 points and a career-high matching 13 rebounds. The junior also matched his career-high in assists, sending out four helpers in the win.

Longwood also had three players in double figures. Isaac Belton led the way with 17 points, Jeylani Dublin posted 16 and Tristan Carey notched 13 points as the Lancers shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52) from the floor and 35.0 percent (7-of-20) from beyond the arc.

The Lions came out hot, opening up the game on a 7-0 run. Taylor got things started for the Nittany Lions, sinking a 3-pointer just eight seconds into the contest. A pair of free throws from Travis put PSU up by five and Newbill tacked on a jumper to finish out the streak.

Carey put the Lancers one the board with a jumper at the 18:10 mark and added a trey on Longwood’s next possession, bringing the count to 9-5. The Nittany Lions fended off LU until a Leron Fisher layup gave the Lancers their first lead of the contest at 12-11.

Penn State regained control with 9:28 remaining in the half as Travis laid one in to put the score at 18-16. Longwood stayed within striking distance over the next several minutes until the final minute of the half when the Lions extended their lead to 10 off of two Newbill free throws. An additional free throw from Newbill closed out the half, bringing the count to 37-27.

The start of the second half resembled the first as PSU posted an 8-0 run. Travis hammered in two dunks while Newbill nailed a jumper and Taylor capitalized on a pair of free throws to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead to 44-27.

Longwood returned the favor with a 10-2 streak of its own to pull within 10 again but the Lancers would not hold on for long as the Blue and White turned in a 20-5 run. Three Taylor treys and an explosive dunk from Frazier highlighted the scoring streak as Penn State went up 70-44 with seven minutes on the clock.

The Nittany Lions did not let up in the remaining minutes, piling on 23 more points before the clock ran out. Woodward capped the scoring with his second three-pointer of the game, putting the final count at 93-67.

Penn State returns to the court Tuesday, hosting Monmouth (N.J.) in the Barclays Center Classic . Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center.

--Penn State Athletics Communications

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